Plain and Simple for Jan. 17, 2013

By Clyde M. DeLoach

SoVaNow.com / January 15, 2013

I have decided that I do not like to get sick. Flu and flu-like illnesses have wreaked havoc on great numbers of people already this year. I spent the better part of last week so sick that I was not sure that I was going to live or even that I wanted to.

It had been a very long time since I had been that ill. I was used to the sore throat or lingering cough that hit every year. I even experienced migraine headaches on occasion that tested the limits of my patience. But this was on a different scale. The doctors told me that I did not have the flu but rather bronchitis. All I know is that I ached all over as if someone had sneaked into my bedroom at night and beat me with a baseball bat. I hurt so bad that I could hardly walk. My cough kept me awake and my headache was on a migraine scale.

When I finally started a regime of antibiotics and got some sleep, I began to improve. The worst of it is over now but I notice that I am somewhat gun shy. Before getting so sick, I could walk around people who were sick and not give it a thought. Now that I have suffered through my bout of illness, I worry that each new exposure or each new cough might be the start of another descent into my private hell. And, believe me, I do not want to go there again.

There are some good things that come from being so sick. I have much more sympathy for those who are ill. I had forgotten that things can hurt that very much for that long. I had also let it slip my mind that an illness can affect all of your body. When I was sick, I hurt all over. Now, when I see someone who is sick, I will be just a little bit more understanding. I was not hard-hearted; I just did not completely understand.

For the rest of you, if you have not gotten your flu shot, I would advise that you get one quickly. This stuff is not playing around. Before I got sick, I was visiting the hospitals regularly with my congregation, and the emergency rooms were full. Take care of yourselves and give a little thought for those who are sick.

Finally, remember that God has given us a magnificent body. If we take care of it, it functions amazingly well. We so often take for granted how well it works and how well we feel most of the time. It is only when we are sick that we realize what we have lost. Take care of the precious gift that God has given you.